Gail Cory Mosman Plowman, 72, died Oct. 19, 2010, surrounded by her loving children in Hailey, Idaho.
A memorial service will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 201 Sun Valley Road, on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. A reception will be held at the home of Pam and Mike Smith immediately following the service.
Gail was born Dec. 12, 1937, in Minneapolis, Minn., to Warren Towle and Luree Cory Mosman. Her father was an accomplished sculptor who trained and taught at Yale University and her mother studied costume design in Paris at Parson's School of Art. They were married in Rome, while living abroad in Europe, and later settled on a small farm in Hopkins, Minn., on the outskirts of Minneapolis to raise their family in 1937.
Gail spent her youth on that farm where she loved riding her horse, Junior, was a member of 4-H and attended a two-room grammar school in Clear Springs. A beautiful child, she was featured as the Ivory Soap model for many years. She later went to Minnetonka High and Central High in St. Paul. Excelling academically, she attended Yale Nursing School and the University of Minnesota where she met and married Charles "Bruce" Plowman.
After living briefly in Chicago where she taught nursery school, she and her family, which now included three young children, moved to Hermosa Beach, Calif. While living in Southern California, Gail was a mother and homemaker, and developed her gift for teaching while working at a local nursery school. She was always an avid fan of the arts and volunteered for many cultural organizations.
Later as a single mother, Gail went back to college and worked as a teacher, while raising her three children. She received her B.A. and M.A. in psychology from Antioch University and attended several master teaching courses at UCLA. She later taught at the John Thomas Dye School in Los Angeles for many years. In 2000, shortly after retirement, she moved to Ketchum, Idaho, to be closer to family. She became involved in her new community and volunteered for numerous organizations including The Community Library, the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and the Sawtooth Botanical Garden. She also became an active member of the St. Thomas Episcopal Church where she formed many important and lasting friendships.
A lifelong learner, her interests included the arts, literature, film and travel. She loved Christmas, family gatherings, the ocean, a good crossword puzzle, shopping with her daughters and her dear friends. During her life, Gail traveled throughout Europe, Israel, Turkey, China, Mexico and New Zealand, and was especially fond of Hawaii. She also visited many parts of the U.S. by way of an adventurous cross-country motorcycle trip. Devoted to her family, she spent much of her time and energy with her children and cherished grandchildren. Gail faced all of life's challenges with remarkable grace and dignity, including her year-and-a-half-long struggle with multiple myeloma.
Gail is survived by her brother, Michael Mosman; her three children, Pamela Elizabeth Plowman Smith, Timothy Michael Pickering Plowman and Mary Alise "Lisa" Plowman; and two grandchildren, Charles Hunterson "Hunter" Smith and Isabela Luree Perez Plowman. She was preceded in death by her sister, Ann Mosman Livingston.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to The Community Library, Box 2168, Ketchum, ID 83340 or to St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Box 1070, Sun Valley, ID 83353.
